Wallet service provider Blockchain.info hits the three million bitcoin wallet mark on its platform, BTC payment option disappears from WordPress, ex-Mintpal CEO Ryan Kennedy arrested in the UK and other top stories for February 24.

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Wallet service provider Blockchain.info hits the three million bitcoin wallet mark on its platform, BTC payment option disappears from WordPress, ex-Mintpal CEO Ryan Kennedy arrested in the UK and other top stories for February 24.

Blockchain.info Reports 3 Millionth Bitcoin Wallet

Wallet service provider Blockchain.info continues to grow rapidly, as the three millionth bitcoin wallet was created on its platform this week. And although CEO Peter Smith would not disclose how many of Blockchain.info’s wallet accounts actually contain funds, he pointed to record-breaking transaction volume as a sign of bitcoin's user growth:

"You can look to the 140% (approx.) year-over-year growth in the number of transactions powered by our software daily to get a sense for activity, which, as a company focused on making it easy to transact, is really encouraging."

Bitcoin Payment Option Disappears from WordPress Platform

The open-source blogging platform WordPress, which became one of bitcoin's first high-profile accepting ventures when it announced it would accept the cryptographic currency for premium features in November 2012, has removed bitcoin from its payments options at checkout. Why WordPress has removed this option, and whether or not this is permanent, remains unclear as of yet.

Ex-Mintpal CEO Ryan Kennedy Arrested in the UK

It has been confirmed that Ryan Kennedy, the ex-CEO of the now-defunct exchange Mintpal, was arrested over non-compliance with a court order requiring him to repay 750 BTC to one of his customers back in December of last year.

The arrest was brought about by UK law enforcement after Syscoin, which saw “massive losses” due to Mintpal’s collapse, did not receive payment after pursuing Kennedy through the courts in October last year. Kennedy was later released on bail.

Electrum 2.0 to be Released This Week

The popular light Bitcoin client Electrum, which allows users to store, send and receive bitcoin while maintaining in control over the private keys but without needing to download the full blockchain, has announced on twitter that its 2.0 version will be released this week.

Crowdfunding platform and bitcoin incubator Swarm is opening its second round of investment for projects and has revealed a new legal structure for distributed organizations. Swarm will be adding five companies to its platform and plans to invest between US $5,000 and US $50,000 per company.

Andrew Cook, COO at Swarm, said:

“The projects in this round will be pioneering a new model of truly distributed ownership and setting ground work for all future crowdsales. It's really exciting and I can't wait to see what they do with these tools that Distributed Collaborative Organizations can provide."

Dutch Exchange CleverCoin Incubated by Boost VC

The Dutch bitcoin exchange CleverCoin has joined the ranks of the Boost VC incubator set up by the investor family Draper. The company will spend three months with other international bitcoin startups and investors in Silicon Valley.

The incubator has specifically been set up to grow bitcoin companies. Twice a year twenty to thirty companies stay in San Mateo for three months and gain extra knowledge on development, entrepreneurship, and investing.

Bitcoin Miner Aquifer Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Bitcoin mining company Aquifer LLC has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California on February 19.

The company claimed between US$1m and US$10m in assets, as well as between US$1m and US$10m in outstanding liabilities. The company has between 1 and 49 creditors.

Josh Garza Announces Plans for BTC.com

Josh Garza, the CEO of GAW Corp and GAW Miners who holds the domain name BTC.com, announced on Hashtalk what he plans to do with this domain name.

According to Garza:

“BTC.com will be a collaboration of the major industry leaders to create one integrated gateway. Major industry companies will be collaborating to provide content.”

He did not, however, disclose which “major industry leaders” he is referring to. And, to the dismay of some bitcoiners, Garza added that the domain name will be promoting his controversial altcoin, Paycoin:

Telebit, the third party service that allows Telegram users to hold and transfer small amounts of bitcoins to their contacts without needing to bother with registration or Bitcoin addresses, is now available to the 50 million users of the popular instant messaging system.

Brian Armstrong, co-founder and CEO of Coinbase, has said on twitter that he believes alternative blockchain-type systems are a distraction, indicating that his service will probably never integrate altcoins. This has in turn sparked a discussion on message boards like r/bitcoin, where most people – perhaps unsurprisingly – seem to agree with Armstrong.

Armstrong:

“Ripple, Stellar, and Altcoins are all a distraction. Bitcoin is way too far ahead. We should be focused on bitcoin and sidechains”

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